Premier Grade match abandoned following injury to Waratah player at Gardens Oval
A Premier Grade match at Gardens Oval has been called off early following an injury to a player which required an ambulance.
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A Premier Grade match between Waratah and Darwin has been abandoned following a “nasty” injury to a veteran player.
This publication understands Tahs playing coach Udara Weerasinghe was knocked out after attempting to catch a ball during Darwin’s innings at Gardens Oval on Saturday afternoon in a 50-over fixture.
A club spokesman said Weerasinghe was unconscious “for a very long time” after the back of his head landed on the ball on the ground.
Weerasinghe, who had been fielding at mid on, ran back with the fight of the ball for a hopeful catch.
However, he overextended to try and catch the ball, lost his balance and fell backwards.
“(It was) very nasty,” the spokesman said.
“(He is) heavily concussed and will spend a night in hospital.”
Supporters and opponents provided on-ground assistance until paramedics and ambulance officers arrived to transfer Weerasinghe to hospital.
Match points will be shared between the two teams.
Earlier, Waratah had compiled 3/215 off their 50 overs with NSW recruit Ryan Hackney compiling 94, with support from Archie Redfern (50) and skipper Isaac Conway (41).
However, the game was abandoned following Weerasinghe’s injury with the Eagles 0/23 in reply.
Earlier, Parramatta product and NSW Blues member Hackney said it was Weerasinghe himself who made contact and drew him to Darwin after a short stint in the Strike League competition a couple of seasons ago.
“It was good to get the team into a competitive place ... but I was tired at the end,” Hackney said.
“I was up here a few years ago for Strike League and Udara was my coach and we have been messaging ever since and I wanted to come back so here I am at Waratah.
“Coming up here instead of a pre-season is good and it also gets me out of a winter in Sydney, so it is my intention to stay here for the full season.”
Meanwhile, Nighcliff skipper Michael Kudra has enjoyed the dream start to his Premier Grade captaincy career, as the Tigers bowled out the opposition for 66 for the second Saturday in a row.
At Tracy Village, the home team were skittled following 3/7 off seven overs from Jai Nanavati and 3/9 from leg spinner Charlie Smith, also off seven.
Smith, a Territory representative at underage level, has now taken five wickets for just 18 runs from his first two stints at the crease in Premier Grade after snaring 2/9 off five against Tahs in Round 1.
A strong feeling of deja vu hung over Tracy Village Oval after Big Bash League star Josh Brown – who blazed an unbeaten 63 off just 22 balls in Round 1, including 19 off the first over – hit two sixes and a four from the first six deliveries from opening quick Vincent Huf.
However, he would sky a catch to Jaxon Treumer at mid on off the bowling of Prajay Paramesh (2/9) the following over to depart for 18 off 10 rocks.
WA recruit Douwtjie Hoogenboezem was unbeaten for the second Saturday in a row (17) while Raveesh Srivastava contributed 18 unconquered runs as the Tigers got home easily by eight wickets.
A booming six over wide midwicket from the southpaw Hoogenboezem was a shot worth an admission price.
Meanwhile, reigning premier Southern Districts are also 2-0 after dispatching Palmerston by 57 runs at Gerry Wood Oval.
A 121-ball 72 from Tom Jackson was the nucleus of the Crocs’ 157 as Alex Bleakley snared 5/22 with support from captain Hamish Martin (2/18 off his full quota).
However, Palmerston could not muster sufficient momentum despite starts from Keegan Oates (25) and Jack Freeman (24).
Tim “Mr September” Garner (4/24 off 9.5 overs) and Dylan Mullen (4/14) bowled the decisive spells.
Josh Brown destroys Waratah on his own
On the back of a dominant performance by Big Bash League star Josh Brown, Nightcliff Tigers played all over a substandard Waratah in their opening round clash of Darwin Premier cricket on Saturday.
Brown’s 4/11 off seven overs and 63 not out from 22 balls at the top of the order, led his team to a 10-wicket victory over a red cap team that had no answers to his power game.
His innings was a mass of belligerent batting at Nightcliff Oval, scoring 19 runs off the first over to bring up his 50 from 18 balls.
However, it was Tiger quick Caelan Maladay (2/18 off seven overs) who started the rot by taking a wicket in his very first over.
It was a procession from there with Waratah bowled out for 66 after 30.2 overs.
Back for his second stint at Tigerland after a successful season with Sydney University in NSW Premier cricket, Maladay enjoyed his brief rest from the game and wasn’t at all surprised by being upstaged by Brown.
“It was a terrific win by the boys – a few of the imports only got in yesterday so it was a nice introduction to Top End cricket for them,” Maladay said.
“We were runners up in Sydney and while it was a disappointing result it did show me what is required to win the big ones and hopefully, I can impart some of that feeling and knowledge to the team here.
“Josh (Brown) upstaged everyone today and clearly he is the man to watch whether with ball or bat.
“He is a class player and all the hard work he has undertaken has been rewarded by his selection in the Big Bash League and for Queensland in white ball cricket.”
In the other match played, reigning premier Southern Districts continued their form from last season with a 62-run victory over PINT at Marrara.
Batting first after winning the toss, Districts managed a competitive 6/256 after 48 overs. Keeper and number three batter Tom Jackson top scored with 79 while opener Corey Hunter (49) and middle-order pair Josh Kann (46) and skipper Tim Garner (36 not out) iced the batting cake.
Best with the ball was Prasanna Ketheeshwaran with 3/51 off his 10 overs.
PINT’s batting was brittle apart from a couple of solid top order performances, bowled out for 194.
Wickets were shared by the Croc bowlers although leg spinner Dylan Mullen (4/28) was impressive knocking over the tail.
There was no play in the Palmerston v Tracy Village clash at Cazalys.
Big win for Nightcliff in B Grade
Nightcliff also got the win in B Grade, with the Tigers passing Waratah’s 112 with five wickets in hand.
The poles were shared among five Nightcliff bowlers at Gardens Oval with Chatura Gabadage Don’s 25 the only batter to pass the 20-run mark.
Jordan Wilkinson (2/37) and Yudhajeet Barua (2/10) did the most damage for the Tigers.
In reply, Byron Gale (34) and Rohan Philip (31) set up a successful run chase for Nightcliff.
At Kahlin Oval, Darwin easily reeled in University Chargers’ 118 all out in 33.3 overs with six wickets in hand.
Openers and vice-captain (Bijaya Lamsal 24) and captain Muhmmad Faheem (21) offered the only real resistance.
For the Eagles, Wil Pilkington (3/25) and Kris Denby (2/15) were the chief destroyers as Uni crumbled from a strong base of 2/66.
In reply, Darwin was led by Jordan Rossi (37 not out) and Charlie Kemp (33) while Chiranjivi Neupane claimed 2/18.
Darwin’s big talking points ahead of Round 1
Cricket season is officially back in Darwin, and weather permitting, Round 1 has thrown up some interesting tussles.
Following plenty of off-season player movement, last year’s cellar dwellers PINT, now marshalled by the esteemed 2004 premiership player David King, will test itself against the remodelled reigning premiers at DXC Arena.
Meanwhile, Palmerston, replenished with a stack of Tasmanian imports, will start its campaign against a severely depleted Tracy Village at Cazalys Oval.
However, Nightcliff against Waratah looks to be the match of the round, with the Tigers’ batting bolstered by the inclusion of Connor Carroll after a productive season with Palmerston in 2022 which harvested two centuries.
In an ominous sign, Carroll has followed his Northern Suburbs teammate and opening partner Josh Brown to Nightcliff Oval, so there could be some fireworks from the hard-hitting leftie, coming off 25 games during an extended season in the Sunshine State.
Darwin Premier cricket season’s talking points
Will we see much cricket in Round 1
After a damp week and more rain forecast – the BOM is suggesting a possible storm in Darwin on Saturday – it remains to be seen if all Premier Cricket matches will get away by the scheduled 11am start, or at all.
With the majority of clubs reporting to popular Facebook page Darwin Cricket News & Scores their wickets were ready to go, all eyes will be on the radar.
The hashtag #ReportToGrounds could be getting a workout.
Extra Tiger firepower
Nightcliff’s T20 title defence has received a fillip with Connor Carroll joining the Tigers for the 2023 season.
Preferring the shorter version of the game, the Queenslander is poised to join forces with Big Bash League blaster Josh Brown at the top of the list at some point this season.
The pair combined for a 201-run, first wicket partnership for Northern Suburbs in Queensland Premier against South Brisbane late last year, with Brown belting 131 off just 79 balls with 12 sixes.
Carroll produced a more subdued 68 off 71 balls as Northerns peeled off 7/450 from less than 70 overs.
Ash Chandrasinghe
It was one of the biggest talking points of Darwin cricket late last season: can Waratah opening bat Ash Chandrasinghe equal Don Bradman’s record of six consecutive first grade hundreds?
While the 21-year-old was brought undone by a flip of the coin – he was only available for the first Saturday of the final round against Palmerston – Chandrasinghe would go on to make his Sheffield Shield debut with Victoria, announcing himself as a star of the future with an unbeaten 119 against Tasmania.
Chandrasinghe told this publication recently his return would be dependant on some tinkering with his technique.
If he’s happy with the changes, he’ll be back.
A different looking Districts
The reigning premier will be a vastly different looking outfit in 2023, with the loss of plenty of talent, including four players with state level experience.
The Crocs will need to fill a 1600-plus runs hole in the batting other with the absence of premiership winners Xavier Crone (362 runs), Sam Kerber (493), Corey Kelly (396) and Dean Fry (362) who posted strong numbers with the blade in Premier cricket in 2022.
In a similar vein, with the ball, the Crocs will need to find replacements for trundlers Matt Hammond (20 wickets) and Tom O’Connell (15).
However, with former Scotland national coach Tony Judd in charge, he has lured Josh Kann and Tom Jackson across from Tracy Village, and Jackson Isakka back to the Crocs.
Turnover at Tracy
Another team gutted of talent is Tracy Village, with Kann and Jackson heading to Southern Districts, Josh Hoffman remaining in South Australia and last season’s most prolific batter, Antum Naqvi, remaining overseas.
Off spinner Todd Murphy, who ended up an assistant coach last season after the departure of Judd, is now a Test player while Reiley Mark has followed Kann and Jackson to the Crocs.
However, there will undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities at the club and admittedly Kann (217 runs) and Jackson (273) didn’t exactly have bumper seasons in 2023 with the bat.
Hoffman, however, who made 426 runs in Premier last season with three half centuries will be a big loss while Naqvi was a run machine in 2022, scoring two centuries.
It appears to be a season of youth development.
Former Waratah player and Under 19 Territory captain Sam Elder is coming off a fruitful season with Adelaide University in South Australian Premier cricket, posting scores of 72 and 67 against Tea Tree Gully and Adelaide.
Poaching Prajay Paramash from PINT, who played mostly B Grade last season, the club also has high hopes for juniors Zayden Lewis and Jaxon Treumer to make their mark in 2023.
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